He Blinded You With Science
by redraposo
Summary: You were broke. It was simple, painful but truthful. You couldn't pay your rent, you couldn't pay your bills, and you couldn't even pay for food anymore. Thus, you came to live with your close friend; Penny. That's when life got better – or worse. You hadn't decided yet. Where did it all start, you ask? It started from across the hall.
1. Apartment 4B

He Blinded You With Science

This particular piece of work was actually inspired by my friend who found a new love in 'The Big Bang Theory'. Her constant ranting reminded me of how epically awesome the show actually is. Thanks, Kara. I owe you one :)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'The Big Bang Theory' or any of its characters. I also do not own the song 'She blinded me with science' which this stories' name was derived from.

SUMMARY: You were broke. It was simple, painful but truthful. You couldn't pay your rent, you couldn't pay your bills, and you couldn't even pay for food anymore. Thus, you came to live with your close friend; Penny. That's when life got better – or worse. You hadn't decided yet. Where did it all start, you ask? It started from across the hall.

Chapter 1: Apartment 4B

You felt bad. Truthfully, you felt grateful – relieved even. She had saved you from a life on the streets. You would have to do something nice for her. Flowers immediately sprung to mind. Yes, you would buy her flowers – when you could actually buy things again. You were broke. It hurt like hell to think that you were scrounging off your friends for something as basic as shelter, but when her anxious and comforting voice hurriedly asked you to live with her; you were quick to say yes. Now, here you were. Standing outside her door, with a suitcase by your side filled with what little you had to your name. You raised a hand, knowing that as soon as you brought it down to knock, your life would take a turn for the better. Either that or it would take a turn for the worst. You scoffed, what did you have to lose, right? You brought it down swiftly, giving the green door a three-beat knock. The door immediately swung open and Penny flung herself at you, crushing you in a friendly embrace.

"Oh, (_f/n_), you're here!" You gasped for breath at her surprising strength, and when she released you, she dragged your luggage inside the apartment, a wide grin on her face. You stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind you.

"P-penny?" You asked timidly, as she propped your suitcase on the ground beside her plush sofa. She looked up at you, dusting off her hands as she stood.

"Yeah?" You looked at the floor, embarrassed.

"Thanks for letting me stay here with you." You gave her a small smile as she opened her arms again.

"Oh, sweetie, you can live here as long as you want," She hugged you again, this time less painfully. You were suddenly immensely grateful for having a friend like her. Not many people would let someone stay in their already small apartment. You looked around as she let go of you. It was well-furnished, the influence of Penny clear in everything she had decorated it with. An assortment of brightly coloured pillows decorated her turquoise green sofa, her floor made of wood, as well as her coffee table and kitchen cabinets. A cream rug sat under both the coffee table and the sofa and her window drapes were a light olive green. You had to utter a soft laugh at her wide variety of vases and dishes, each made of a completely different colour. She noticed your wandering gaze.

"Do you like it?" She questioned, her eyes sweeping lovingly but briefly over her small apartment.

"I love it." You smiled back, sitting down on her sofa. She clasped her hands together in a pleased manner and walked over to her kitchen.

"I was thinking about making dinner, you want some?" You hadn't had any lunch today, so naturally you were starving.

"Please." She smiled and began taking out dishes to prepare dinner. Suddenly a thought flashed through your mind, "oh! Before dinner, could I perhaps," you paused, wondering if this was the correct time to ask, seeing as you hadn't had one for the past four days, "Could I use your shower?" She looked surprised, but then sympathetic.

"Oh, sorry, my showers not working at the moment," You sighed and nodded meekly, "I'm getting someone in to fix it soon though!" She added as an afterthought as you slouched down into her settee. She startled you by uttering a loud 'Oh!' You looked her way, surprised by her sudden outburst.

"The guys across the hall have one though, you could use theirs!" A mental image popped up in your head of the kind of guys penny hangs out with: tall, muscular and good looking. You didn't exactly want to go over to someone's apartment that you didn't know and ask to use their shower. The fact that she had made her statement plural suggested that there was more than one, and that put you even more on edge.

"Uh, no, that's fine." She noticed your unnerved expression and laughed.

"They're not what you think. They're actually really sweet! Well, except for one," She paused reliving a memory, before shivering, "He's just creepy." You raised you eyebrows at her, questioning just who she made friends with. Before you could tell what was happening however, she ushered you out the door.

"I have to make dinner, so just tell them that I sent you!" She pushed you out of her apartment before slamming the door behind you and leaving you alone in the hallway. You could have sworn you heard her giggle. Sighing, and attempting to suppress the nerves that were building up inside you, you wondered over to the apartment adjacent to Penny's.

"This is a terrible idea." You whispered to yourself, commenting on your desperation and why you would actually do something like this. You raised your hand to knock on apartment 4A's door, noting that if these people turned out to be psycho killers, you would totally haunt the shit out of Penny.


	2. You're Living With Penny?

Here's the next chapter of my story; "He Blinded You With Science." Interesting fact: "She Blinded Me With Science" – which this stories' name is derived from – was the original theme song of the show, but in 'The Lizard-Spock Expansion' it was shown to be Howard's ring-tone. I realise that the introduction to the group is similar to that of Penny's but we gotta stick to stuff we know, right? Enjoy anyway :)

Please review :)

Chapter 2: You're living with Penny?

After a full fifteen minutes of mental preparation, you decided that yes, that stupid motto was; YOLO and that if it was a choice between trusting Penny's friends and taking a shower in their apartment or staying unclean when there was a working shower available, your body unfortunately craved the warm liquid and soap more than your mind craved safety. So, in the end, you knocked on apartment 4A's door. You stood nervously, wringing your hands and shifting on your feet. You tried to work out what you would say to these people other than: "Hey, can I use your shower?!" without sounding too rude or too needy. You braced yourself as the door opened.

Never before in your life had you been so relived – or so shocked. Standing before you was a man, a couple of inches shorter than yourself, with dark brown hair and glasses. His hooded jumper was tucked neatly underneath his jacket and he smiled warmly and if not a little nervously up at you.

"Hello." He greeted, his voice wavering slightly as he spoke to you. He raised his eyebrows as you just continued to stare at him. Suddenly snapping out of your trance and reddening slightly, you outstretched your hand as you attempted to be polite.

"Ah, yes," You shook your head in an attempt to form words, "I'm (_f/n_)(_l/n_). Er, I'm living with Penny." As soon as you spoke her name, his face brightened, and he shook your hand.

"Oh, hi! Come in." You smiled shyly as he opened the door wider to allow you to step inside, "I'm Leonard Hofstadter." You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and allowed your gaze to wander over the apartment, immediately stopping it when it fell upon three other males, deeply engrossed in their meal – which you guessed by the fortune cookie – was Chinese. The man you just met stepped forward to the group.

"Guys?" They all looked at him, some with their forks still in their mouth as their gaze abruptly flickering to your face, "This is (_f/n_)(_l/n_). She's staying with Penny." All three looked at you with disbelief as Leonard pointed to each individual, "This is Sheldon Cooper." A tall and slim man nodded to you as you stepped towards him, preparing to shake his hand.

"It's nice to meet you –" Leonard cut you short as Sheldon flinched away from your touch.

"He doesn't like contact… of any form."

"Right." you raised your eyebrows as Sheldon once again relaxed. He reminded you of something but you couldn't quite put your finger on it. Just then an image flashed through your mind of a tall praying mantis, staring down at its smaller prey. That's what he reminded you of; a praying mantis! You mentally slapped yourself and told your mind not to be so judgemental.

Something snapped you out of your thoughts as a warm hand encapsulated your own. You started blankly down at another man who proceeded to introduced himself as:

"Howard Wolowitz. Anything and everything you'll every need." You smiled politely down at him, subsequently snatching your hand away from his.

"It's nice to… meet you." You stood back, allowing Leonard to introduce you to the final member of the group.

"And this is Raj Koothrappali." A dark skinned male avoided your gaze as you offered him your hand to shake. He squeaked lightly as you introduced yourself. Confused, you looked to Leonard for an explanation.

"He… can't speak to women."

"Oh…" you looked sympathetically over to the man now shifting under you gaze, "Well it's nice to meet you all anyway." Smiling at each in turn, you looked around the large apartment, your gaze immediately falling on a board full of extensive equations and sums that you couldn't possible hope to understand.

"Whoa…" you breathed, stepping closer to the work, "what is this?" The taller one – Sheldon, stepped forward, tilting the board towards him.

"These are just some simple sums I do in my spare time. Partial quantum mechanics," He pointed to a particularly large and elaborate equation in the upper right hand corner of the board, "with a little string theory doodling around the edges." His loving gaze swept over the work as you took in the theoretical symbols, "That part there," he pointed to a small one line calculation right at the bottom of the board, "That's just a joke, it's a spoof of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation." Though you saw nothing funny at all in his genius work splattered across the board, you breathed a laugh, allowing your mouth to hang open.

"This is seriously impressive…" You murmured, as he rested his hand on the top of the board, a small smug smile tugging at his lips, "So you're like one of those genius guys?" He raised his head, eyes glancing to the rest of the group before they met your gaze again.

"Yeah" He acknowledged his well-deserved status.

"Mine are over here…" You heard someone point out, and turned to see Leonard standing beside a board filled with equally impressive calculations, "This is my board." He pointed, tapping the board with his hand. You jogged over to stand beside him, ignoring the gazes of Howard and Raj that followed you like a hawk.

"This is amazing." You breathed. You had always hated science at school and to see something as extensive as this practically blew your mind.

"If by amazing you mean a derivative restatement of the kind of stuff you can find scribbled on the wall of any men's room at MIT, sure." You stood back as Sheldon stared down at Leonards work with an unsatisfied glare.

"Well at least I didn't have to invent 26 dimensions just to make the math come out!" Leonard waved his hands dismissively at Sheldon's equations as you made your way round to their plush leather sofa. Howard eyed you with obvious interest as you slid down onto the left side of the couch, as far away from his as possible.

"I didn't invent them! They're there."

"In what universe?"

"All of them, that is the point!"

"Actually, guys? I came round to ask a favour of you…" You interrupted suddenly, standing up to address them fully. Both men turned to stare at you in the midst of their heated argument, "I actually feel kind of bad for asking this." you stared at the floor, felling your cheeks burn.

"Ask of anything, my lady, and it shall be done." Howard stood, bowing low to you, his voice laced with lust. You didn't know whether he was being over-friendly or just taking the piss, so you chose to awkwardly laugh and step towards someone more normal – in this case; Leonard.

"Um, Penny's shower isn't working at the moment, so, would it be considered rude if I asked to use yours?" You rubbed you arm and looked at Leonard. Immediately you felt bad; his glasses had started to fog up and his cheeks were tinted a light shade of red as he stammered out a response – perhaps you had asked more seductively than you had intended?

"U-uh, sure! Yeah, no problem! Of course, it's just down the hall, but sometimes it sticks when you want to turn it from 'bath' to 'shower', I'll show you!"

You grinned at him, "Thanks Leonard! Penny was right; you're such a good neighbour!" He smiled proudly, and lead you down the hall towards what you assumed was the bathroom. As you were walking down the hallway with Leonard, you could have sworn you heard Howard mutter; "_She's_ living with Penny? _Now_ it's a Gold Mine!"


	3. The Liquid Heat Hypothesis

Sorry this is so late :( I promise to do better okay? Okay. Now on with the story!

Any reviews are greatly appreciated – even if they're only one sentence long :)

Chapter 3: The Liquid Heat Hypothesis

Though oddly at ease in the shower, with the steam and hot water rinsing away all memories of your past life, your ears still pricked at any slight noise they heard. You were still wary of the men you had just met – even though your better judgement had told you they were harmless, you still couldn't ignore how eagerly Leonard had allowed you to take a shower – or how nice he had been when showing you how to work the 'hot water' function. Perhaps they were just nice people? You scoffed – then again they _were_ friends with Penny, so they must have _some_ psycho crazy attribute. She almost always made friends with people because of their _looks_ and not because of their charming personality. You remembered her last boyfriend; Kurt – the 6-foot-tall bulky male with the IQ span of a child.

You nearly jumped out of your skin when you heard a knock at the door. Hesitantly you answered said knock.

"H-hello?"

"Oh (_f/n_), I forgot to tell you!" You breathed a heavy sigh of relief – it was just Leonard. He seemed the least likely to be the 'kill-you-while-you-sleep' kind of guy.

"Yes?" you questioned, turning off the shower and stepping out.

"The hair products are Sheldon's…" you grabbed a towel from the nearest rack and wrapped it around yourself, making sure it wouldn't fall down, "and he doesn't like it that much when people use his things…" you squeezed your wet hair to avoid leaving water droplets all over Leonards bathroom – he was kind enough to let a stranger use his shower after all – "or when people touch them… try not to touch them…" walking over to the bathroom door, you grabbed the handle while Leonard continued to talk to the door, "Trust me, he has an UV light that he uses to check for foreign bacteria and it gets a little messy when he finds some –" you opened the door swiftly, stepping out and nearly ramming straight into poor Leonard. You had no idea he would stand so close to the bathroom door.

"Uh, Hey" You greeted awkwardly, trying to ignore his staring at the towel now covering your naked form, "uh – thanks for letting me use the shower!" You grinned at him. He smiled back and stepped out of the way to let you pass.

"How was your shower?" He questioned warmly, walking over to his kitchen. You shrugged, the shower had been nice – if it weren't for the constant harsh whispering you heard from out in the living room. You cringed slightly as you remembered some snippets of the conversation.

"_Leonard, if this is another one of your attempts to engage in coitus with a female, let me remind you of the roommate agreement –" Sheldon spoke clearly, before being hushed hurriedly by what sounded like Leonard._

"_Sheldon! I'm just trying to be a good neighbour."_

"_Your increased heart rate and erratic breathing throughout the introduction proved otherwise. Those symptoms are typical of the when a male is attracted to the opposed sex." Sheldon replied without a second to think, and for some unknown reason, you felt your cheeks warm at his comment._

"_Leonard, a word of advice," Now you had only known the guy for about 3 minutes, but you could already distinguish Howard from a crowd; his lacy voice edged with something similar to a creepy pick-up attempt, "You should leave this to the professionals."_

"_Howard, you are not a professional!" Leonard sounded as if he was desperately trying to fight a losing battle._

"_Well tell that to all the girls I've been with –"_

"_And how many would that be?" Leonard's voice was filled with incredulity and it was here that you decided to intervene and cough rather loudly. It did work however, as none of them spoke another word._

"Good," You chirped, choosing to ignore the uncomfortable memories that unfortunately wouldn't leave you for a while, "It was good." Leonard sat two mugs down between you and added a sachet of hot chocolate into each.

"That's nice," He proceeded to switch his kettle on; "I always find showers are the best way to relieve stress after a hard day." He smiled as you leant against the counter, an awkward silence floating down between you.

"Do you know what else is nice?" You turned to see Sheldon, sitting politely with a very large and very complicated-looking book in his hands, giving Leonard a knowing stare.

"What Sheldon?" A half hearted Leonard answered as you stared at the immense size of this book. _'You could probably sail in that thing' _you thought, mind flashing to a stormy sea and you braving the waves atop of Sheldon's monstrous book.

"If you make your friend a hot cup of cocoa!" Sheldon snapped, head jerking back to the book.

Leonard opened his mouth once and then closed it a few seconds later – clearly contemplating on what to say, before giving up and adding a third mug. You laughed under your breath at how demanding Sheldon seemed to be. Your mind wondered slightly if you could ever live with a person like that. You smirked; probably not knowing how demanding _you _were. Leonard worked away as you rested your elbows on the work-top, realising the silence that once again engulfed you both. However, you found that you didn't mind him not talking, hell you didn't even mind the uncomfortable silence, but what you _did_ mind was the gazes you felt directly upon your body. Turning around swiftly, you saw Sheldon sitting politely – book still in hands, Raj looking in the complete opposite direction to your gaze – probably _too_ opposite to be called natural, and Howard, sitting there staring at your upper legs – or where the towel stopped. You frowned. Did he not even _try_ to be discrete? When he realised that you had turned round and subsequently caught him 'checking-you-out', he grinned at your scowling face and turned to talk to Raj. After a few minutes of intense glaring and making sure he really wasn't going to look at you again you tuned back round – only to come face-to-face _yet again_ with Leonard, who had apparently make hot cocoa and poured out the boiling liquid while you were death glaring at Howard and his creepy gazes. You jumped, nearly spilling hot water all over him. Why on Earth had he decided to hold out the cup to you when he clearly saw you didn't notice? You apologised profusely for the near-scolding accident, but Leonard just held out the cup to you, telling you that he had had worse. You smiled graciously and thanked him for the hot beverage. Leonard passed Sheldon the remaining hot cocoa, while Sheldon thanked him quietly. Offering you the plush chair to sit on, Leonard took up a seat of the edge of the main couch, next to Raj, as the five of you sat there in silence. You smiled into your drink; maybe these people weren't so bad after all.


	4. The Meal-Time Catalyst

Thank you to _Teobi _for leaving such an epic review – you are a boss :)

Let's have a challenge to see if anyone can do better than Teobi, shall we? :P I would love you if you review *gives hug* :)

This chapter is a bit of character filler, and it dives a bit into your past. Hope you don't mind :)

Chapter 4: The Meal-Time Catalyst 

"Then, Leonard made me hot cocoa and we all sat and drank it together! Penny, you never told me how nice your neighbours were! Or how insanely smart they are…" you trailed off, deep in thought as you explained the nights events in great detail to a very indifferent and slightly bored Penny. You both sat on her sofa, clad in your cosy nightwear and free of your make- up as you switched dramatic and humorous memories. You had just ran out of anything to say, so proceeded to tell her what had happened during your eventful visit to meet her friends and neighbours across the hall and use the shower in their apartment.

"That's nice sweetie…" Her voice drawled as she gave you a small smile, tucking her legs underneath her, and you – oblivious to her boredom – grinned back.

The pillow you were clutching against your chest was the one you had brought from your old apartment and the pink fluffiness was drawing Penny's gaze and making her more interested than she had been previously before. The white wine in the glass she held in her right hand was now almost empty as she sat it down on the coffee table, before turning to you.

"(_f/n_)?" She asked quietly, a serious tone lining her usually bright voice.

"Yes?" You questioned, feeling slightly uncomfortable under the gaze she was now giving you.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," You felt the colour drain from your face; maybe she was going to ask you to stay away from her friends? You didn't have many friends – hell, nowadays you felt Penny was your _only_ friend, "How did you reach where you are today? Like, how did you lose your apartment?" She looked apprehensively at you, slightly fearful in case you refused to tell her anything and simply stopped talking to her altogether. You looked past her, deep in thought as you contemplated on whether or not telling her the whole story was a good idea. In the end, you opted for half of an answer.

"Ah..." You paused, smiling slightly at her, "It's a long story."

"Well I have time." She looked optimistically at you and you sighed. You guessed it couldn't hurt to tell her.

"Well, you know I had that job at the restaurant?" She hummed thoughtfully.

"Oh yeah, I remember eating there a few times, it's a nice place." You rubbed your neck awkwardly as you continued.

"Well, when I came home one day from a night shift, my apartment was broken into." Penny gasped slightly but you kept talking, "They took almost everything I had, except my furniture."

"Oh, I'm sorry, (_f/n_)" You shrugged.

"It's okay, but I realised that I would either have to go to the police and report the crime or continue working and try harder at my job to earn more and pay for the damage. I knew the police would never do anything. They would just take one look at me and judge me as 'another young girl who can't take care of herself' It's happened before with them, and it would happen again." Penny was silent, her face showing sympathy and empathy to you and your current situation. "So I worked as much as I could at that restaurant, and I even took another job as a checkout operator at a local grocery store. After a few weeks of non-stop work, I was run-down, ill and only a few thousand dollars up. The manager told me to stop taking so much work because of health and safety reasons. I told him no, I needed the money and it was none of his business to care about my health or safety. We got into an argument and he fired me. I didn't really beg for my job because I hated it there anyway. I was sick and tired of seeing that place." You shivered involuntarily as Penny picked up her glass and sipped the last remaining wine. "The grocery store manager fired me a week later. Something along the lines of mixing up the Sweet Potatoes and the Yams." You laughed. You actually had done that on purpose to escape from the misery of that damn job. Penny nodded, her eyes boring through you as you finished your story.

"So I couldn't pay for my apartment, I called you and here we are." You smiled, "Thanks for taking me in by the way." You grinned, cuddling your fluffy pillow like a small child does and before you knew it, Penny was hugging you again, sobbing as she did so. Alarmed and thoroughly worried, you hugged her back.

"P-penny, what's wrong?!" She sobbed into your shoulder.

"Oh, (_f/n_) I'm so sorry! Everything that's happened to you, everything you've been through, it's just a-awful and you don't deserve it!" She hugged you tighter, stealing away the last bit of air you had left in your lungs as you laughed softly.

"Its fine, don't worry Penny, it's all behind me now." She nodded and pulled away, wiping her eyes with her free hand. Grateful, you took a deep breath of air into your starved lungs.

"Sorry I asked..." She mumbled apologetically.

"That's okay, I don't mind." You rubbed her shoulder affectionately before she stood to place both of your empty wine glasses in her kitchen. You stretched out on her couch which had been turned into a makeshift bed with a random assortment of coloured blankets and pillows strewn across it. Pulling one off the ground and placing it over yourself, you bid Penny goodnight as she passed to her bedroom. She returned it politely, stray sobs echoing her voice, before wishing you a good night's sleep and closing her door, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

It had been a long and stressful day and sleep sounded like a great idea, and just as you were drifting off, there was a gentle knock at Penny's apartment door. You jolted upright, intent that murdering rapists were trying to break in and destroy the house with you inside. Frantically scanning the room for a good-sized weapon, a though hit you – murdering rapists wouldn't knock, would they? You sighed, panic attack now firmly subdued and you made your way cautiously over to the door, eyeing it suspiciously as if it would cave in at any moment. When you reached it, you peered through the eye hole and a wave of relief spread over you – it was just Leonard.

You opened the door quietly so you didn't disturb Penny and looked, as Leonard stood, clad in a red dressing gown – complete with white socks and messy hair. He looked nervous for some reason.

"Oh, hey Leonard." you greeted, smiling warmly at him in an attempt to encourage him into speaking.

"Hi (_f/n_), sorry for coming round this late..."

"That's okay, I wasn't really sleeping anyway," You shifted on your feet, "Is there something you wanted?"

He nodded and spoke again.

"I was just wondering if you would like to join Penny – or j-join us – when we have dinner... in our apartment... tomorrow night..." He pointed behind him when he said 'our apartment' as if you didn't know where his apartment was already. You were a little taken aback, if truth be told. Could he not have just waited till tomorrow to ask you? I mean, it wasn't as if you had many plans nowadays... But you didn't have the heart to deny the guy; standing there wringing his hands and tightening his dressing gown as he waited patiently for your answer.

"Sure," He grinned at you from behind his glasses, "I would love to have dinner with you guys," you pointed into Penny's apartment behind you, "Penny's coming too?" He looked behind you warily as if she would suddenly spring out from her hiding place, but when she didn't, he answered with a; "Yeah, I presume so."

You laughed quietly, "Cool. It's a date then." You waved him goodbye and shut the door behind you, unaware that as Leonard walked away, his cheeks flushed pink in the darkness.


	5. The Relations Equilibrium

Sup guys? Another update here! Sorry that it's kinda short... but I hope you like it :) As always, any reviews would be greatly appreciated :)

Just to make it clear – and I am really sorry I didn't at the start – but this is a reader insert fic, which means that's Penny's guest/the reason it's written in first person, is because the main character is you, the reader! :) So continuing on from that, I realise that it does look like I've randomly stuck letters inside a bracket, but to elaborate: '(_f/n_)' basically means that you insert your 'first name' here, hence the initials :P :) But thank you to _Vinnie StJames_ for pointing that out :L

Chapter 5: The Relations Equilibrium

To be honest, you were nervous. It was weird though. You never got nervous, and yet everytime you thought about having dinner with _them_ it would send you into a fit of panic. What would you wear? How would you style your hair? Should you put an extra amount of make-up on or should you just keep it simple? Could you talk freely to Leonard or should you watch from a safe distance?

You sat on Penny's couch, a wave of emotions flooding your mind; worry, panic, anxiety, excitement – wait – excitement? Were you excited? You could never really tell. Perhaps you were excited – but what for? Was it because you got to see Leonard again, or was it the thought of seeing new friends? You decided to not delve deeper into the subject and continued to stare at Penny's TV – which wasn't even on. This was ridiculous. Penny would be home soon from a long day at work (which reminded you that you really needed to go job hunting...) and she probably wouldn't want to hear you whining at her about trivial things. So, acting on impulse, you got ready without even thinking about what you would wear. Perhaps that would make you less nervous? You didn't want to think about it either way, because once you unzipped your luggage bag and pulled out the first thing to come to your sweating hands, all you had to concentrate on was to suppress any rising feelings of anxiety. You just really hoped you would be accepted to the group. You couldn't bare the fact of only having Penny to talk to, knowing that sooner or later she would get bored of you – something you promised yourself would never happen.

A few minutes of fixing your outfit and staring blankly in the mirror, you sighed. So this was it: A tight fitting cream t-shirt and dark jeans? You closed you eyes in irritation. It could be worse you presumed. You finished fixing up your make-up and completed your look in less than 5 minutes – with a shaky hand nonetheless – but it still turned out satisfactory.

Hearing the door open with a 'click' and shut with a soft 'snap' sound, you came to realised that Penny was now home. Opening the door to her bedroom, you stuck your head out.

"Hello Penny!" You called cheerfully, bounding out of the room, "How was your day at work?"

She turned to you, dropping her bag on her couch and running a hand through her tied up hair, giving you a look of desperation as she said; "Great! I want to work at the cheesecake factory for my whole life!" You immediately sensed the sarcasm running through her voice and attempted to lighten her spirits.

"Well, I would cook you dinner, but guess what?" She collapsed onto her couch as you sat down carefully next to her, her eyes following you suspiciously, "Leonard has invited us over for dinner at his place! Isn't that nice?!" You finished clasping your hands together and placing them in your lap with a grin. Having dinner at someone else's house – instead of having to cook it herself – was sure to brighten her spirit. She pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation.

"(_f/n_) I always have dinner at Leonards, and now I presume _we_ will _always_ be having dinner at Leonards..." She sighed, standing from the sofa. You looked optimistically up at her with a light-hearted smile.

"But it was nice of him to invite us, wasn't it?" You spoke meekly, re-thinking the whole situation in your head.

"Oh sweetie, you have a lot to learn..." She uttered a soft laugh, throwing her coat over your head as she made her way into the bedroom to get changed. You screwed up you face in confusion. _What did she mean by that?_ Turning in your seat, you watched as she closed the door of her bedroom behind her.

"How long will you be?" You asked, sitting patiently. You heard her sigh exasperatedly.

"I don't know, maybe twenty minutes!" You smiled, at least it wasn't that long, you supposed.

Clearly you had things to learn about Penny as well. You waited... and waited... _and waited._ For almost forty-five minutes.

"Geesh Penny, I think I might be a hundred years old out here!" You shouted, slouching down on her sofa and continuing with stacking her pillows on the coffee table in a neat array of colours. Not a few seconds later, you heard her melodic voice call out to you, in announcement of her arrival.

"I'm coming!" And just like that, she stepped out into the living room and headed for the door to her apartment, wearing a sleeveless orange v-neck top and rust coloured jeans, her hair in soft curls and her make-up accenting her beauty.

"Penny you said you would only be twenty minutes!" She flashed you a grin before opening her apartment door.

"So you waited a little longer," She stepped out into the hallway and strode over to apartment 4A's door, "and now I'm waiting on you!"

Laughing slightly at her flamboyant demeanour, you skipped out of her apartment, firmly closing the door behind you and running over to join her.

"Do you want to do the honours?" You asked, bowing slightly to her and tumbling your hand to the door.

"With pleasure!" And with that, she knocked on the apartment 4A's door, behind which a selection of incredible delicacy's awaited you.


	6. The Intelligence Paradox

OH MY GOD I AM SO SORRY! I broke my computer like 2 weeks ago and I haven't been able to update in ages! It's been killing me having to live without internet and every time I wanted to write a new chapter of this story or thought of an interesting plot bunny, I wouldn't be able to write it down! I apologize profusely for this incredible lack of updating but now I have my own laptop so my updates will flow freely and regularly (also, now I have no excuse for not updating) so I'm really sorry that I've done this to you :( PLEASE DONT HURT ME! *innocent eyes* I'm also really sorry that it's such a short update, but it's like half eleven at night over in Britain and I NEED TO SLEEP. Anyway! Please enjoy the next and extremely overdue chapter of this story :)

Oh, and I don't own the rights to (or even own) a Harley Davidson 883 Sportster or a 1967 Mustang Fastback.

Chapter 6: The Intelligence Paradox

"Oh hey guys, come in!"

You stepped into Leonard's apartment with Penny at your heels, feeling only slightly awkward at the three men already sitting and eating their take-away meals. Chewing slowly and stopping mid-drift in their conversation, all three turned to watch as you entered with Penny – who had already strut to a leather seat positioned at a right angle to the tall thin one you were introduced to as 'Sheldon'. You played with the hemming on your t-shirt nervously as you waited to be told where to sit. It was considered rude if you just took a seat yourself now, wasn't it? Especially in someone else's apartment – and one thing you didn't want to be doing was making a fool of yourself here, in front of everyone. Thankfully though, Leonard stepped in front of you, offering you a smile as he pointed to a basic wooden chair next to Penny.

"Um, you can sit here, (_f/n_)." You nodded, thanking Leonard as you took the seat. Looking down at their coffee table, you realised that you had forgotten to bring money to pay for your share of the food – not that you had much money anyway.

"Ah, Leonard?" He looked up, mouth full of food and swallowed with difficulty so he could speak, "I've forgotten my money, shall I just go and –"

"This ones on me." He cut you off, pushing a box of food towards you and waving his hand dismissively at your feeble protests against his warm hospitality. It felt strange being treated like this. Kindness was an emotion you were not often subjected to. Your life was hard after, and through university; even so, you managed to pull through with a degree in business management – much to the astonishment of your parents.

Like Penny, you had grown up on a farm, only yours was located in the state of Georgia, and was much more isolated than hers. There was no choice on your part on whether or not to do chores – you had to, otherwise your little cattle ranch and dairy production would fail to stay afloat and the risk of losing your beloved home would become ever prominent. Much of your schooling and education was limited. You were too far in the country to travel to a state school, so your parents thought it best to home school their daughter – which did not succeed nor last long. You had the basic fundamentals of sibling rivalry; your eldest sibling and heir to the luxurious estate was your brother, who would treat you as if your sex defined you – you were only a female to him, and thus in his eyes, you were a weak and stupid girl. So acting like a woman around him was difficult – thus you adopted a more tomboy and crude demeanor which, though shone a bright light upon you in your father and brothers eyes, made you unworthy of the love of your two elder sisters, who saw your manual labour and crop raising ways as the utmost act of betrayal. They would exclude you from their 'late-night-girl-talks' or raising the young animals. You never minded much though – being more manly was what made your father teach you everything he knew about motor's, engines, cars and machinery. It was all very interesting and was partly the reason why you had dreamed of owning a Harley 883 Sportster or a 1967 Mustang Fastback for most of your life.

You smiled, your parents were never bad to you, they just showed their affections in different ways. Come to think of it, they rarely ever showed you affection. Perhaps one day, you and Penny would share your experiences of growing up and living on a farm. You discretely wondered if hers were better or worse than yours.

Glancing down at the meal before you, then up at Leonard who was now in a light-hearted conversation with Howard, you decided to grasp the small packaged box of the Thai prepared meal and opened it. It smelled wonderful – like nothing you had ever smelt before.

Penny, however, had clearly eaten tons of the stuff before. You glanced round at her and let your mouth part slightly. She was shoving forkfuls into her mouth, one after another unabashedly and only swallowing when her airway and only way of breathing was blocked. It was certainly a sight to behold. She turned to Sheldon, patting her chest to ease down the sheer amount of food she had consumed, and started pointing at him with her fork. It was quite amusing to watch as Penny jabbed her fork into Sheldon's line of vision, while he recoiled from said fork like it was on fire.

"Mm, Sheldon?" She managed to spurt out, subsequently drawing the attention of all seated eating, "Remind me again why you _always_ sit there? It's not exactly a special spot." Sheldon sat up and redirected his gaze towards Penny at her comment.

"Oh, on the contrary Penny, this seat is ideally located both in relation to the heat source in the winter and a cross breeze in the summer. It also faces the television at a direct angle allowing me to immerse myself in entertainment or game play without being subjected to conversation." After the first few words, Penny had lost all interest and continued in her unashamed ways of eating Thai food. You, however, were most intrigued by Sheldon. He must be really smart to state and follow so many reasons and rules just about sitting in a particular spot on his sofa. You giggled slightly as he came to finish his statement, awarding your the gazes of all the males. Immediately you felt uncomfortable. This is not the reaction you had desired. You thought you'd better justify your abrupt laughter as to avoid making Sheldon feel bad.

"Oh, I err..." You thought for a second, choosing the next words carefully, "It's just cool how smart you guys are!" You beamed cheerfully at the self-proclaimed 'nerds' sitting opposite you, and, following Penny's lead, dug into your own meal at an alarming rate.

* * *

Leonard looked stunned at you as you began to eat your meal, still smiling. Had you really just called him cool? That was something he had longed to hear from Penny but never did. You didn't even know him and he hadn't gotten the chance to justify the fact that he wasn't as nerdy as he seemed, yet you had jumped to the conclusion that he was cool _because _he was smart. He looked down at Howard, who was just as shocked as he was at your proclamation of their impressive intelligence. Leonard felt a grin creep its way onto his face as you began to talk to Penny about your favourite colour of lipstick. Leaning down to Howard, and whispering into his ear, he felt almost proud of meeting you.

"Isn't she great?"


	7. Give Something Back

ANOTHER UPDATE! :D I told you I wouldn't disappoint now that I have my laptop which has literally become my baby. I love it to pieces. Anyway, enough of that, in the next few chapters , I'm going to add a little twist of flavor to Rea-tan's (the reader) character because, as _Shadowda_ rightly pointed out, the reader is kind of a little like a carbon copy of Penny. Which needs to change. Now. But this attribute is just like a little fluffy one which will make you either go 'aww that was nice' or 'that's kind of pathetic.' And hopefully it's the first... More quirky characteristics are on the way, but this ones just to get started. So, I hope you don't mind :) Review if you like :P

Chapter 7: Give Something Back

Curled up on the sofa of Penny's apartment, a light aqua blanket covering your torso and lower body, you grabbed a spare sheet of paper that slid off of Penny's coffee table and snatched up a biro pen. As you positioned the paper, the pen just gracing the white sheet, you hummed in thought. _What should you sketch? _Perhaps a picture of that scruffy dog you had seen on the way over to Penny's apartment that fateful night? Its muddy brown curls tousled by the summer wind as its owner hurried along, tugging at its leash. Or maybe you would depict the trees just bordering this apartment complex, their fresh green leaves that glided and swayed in time with the breeze. A spark ignited within your brain, and hurriedly, you began jerking the pen in fast movements, chasing the vision you had just imagined as if scared it would leave your mind as soon as it graced it. Tongue between teeth, you shaded and outlined the picture, making sure every detail was accurate and precise. You wiped your forehead with the palm of your hand to rid it of accumulating sweat which had built up from the intensity of your sketching, ignorant to the fact that a smudge of ink now adorned your face. With a few more strokes and circular movements you were done – and quite proud of your creation too. It was so real looking and life-like that you had to spend a few moments gazing at it just to be sure that it really came from you. You sighed, unfortunately coming to realize that you couldn't become too attached to the artwork as you really intended on giving it away as a gift.

Penny was long gone to her room, and the lights had been turned off some time ago, but you just couldn't get to sleep. The circumstances and situations which took place that evening had captured your attention for what seemed like forever – and you didn't want to forget about it anytime soon: After dinner, Sheldon had insisted that the newest member of the group learn how to play 'rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock' – to which the rest of your company had groaned out a begrudging response, all except you, who was most content to learn the interesting-sounding game. After a lengthy run-through of all the rules, regulations and proceedings of the game from Sheldon, you found yourself beating everyone who would play with you – spare Sheldon of course; whose "intellect and brilliance of mind is unachievable and but a dream to you". Feeling comfortable among the group of people you had just gotten to know, you accepted the fact that you were _having fun_. And boy, did it feel good to laugh. You hadn't done so in such a long while that it seemed almost alien every time you laughed or snickered. When it was time to leave, Penny almost had to drag you out, but as Leonard and the gang waved a short goodbye, you felt a twinge in your heart and, feeling obliged to do something about the feeling of guilt, you took it upon yourself to give something back. Even if it turned out to be a slightly detailed sketch of something you were growing to like.

Slipping out from underneath the warm blanket, and leaning on the coffee table for support, you scribbled a note on the back of the picture. It was only something little, something you could afford, but it was something you were proud of, and you hoped it would be received with some gratitude, though you were almost sure it would be. You tiptoed to the front door and unlocked the cold metal bolts as quietly as you could, careful not to wake your sleeping housemate. Stepping out into the hall and shutting the apartment door behind you, you scurried across the distance separating the two apartments, and, longing for the warmth of your blanket again, slid the picture under the adjacent building's door and hurried back into Penny's home, jumping under the covers of the blanket once more, smiling to yourself all the way.

* * *

Leonard was in the kitchen _again_, pouring himself a cool glass of milk to ease away his lack of sleep. He heard a distinct noise of paper sliding, and looked around the counter tops, thinking it must of been one of his algorithms or calculations that he forgot to put away that was now moving in the cross breeze. No such gaze met his sight. '_Damn Sheldon is thorough.'_ He though, remembering how scrupulously clean his roommate was. He brushed it off – must have been his imagination. As he exited the cooking area, and took the step up and along the hall, he turned and glanced behind him. That's when he noticed it; a thin piece of paper had been slotted under his door. His thoughts immediately ran to Howard playing a joke as he shuffled over to it, his dressing gown tassels swinging loosely about his waist. When he bent down to pick it up, he noticed it was a drawing – a sketch of some sort. Adjusting his glasses and holding the paper closer to his line of sight, he realised it was a picture of him. He grinned at the sketch – oh, it was _definitely_ him; his glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose and his hooded jumper tucked underneath his coat while his tousled brown hair fell loosely about his face. The picture was smiling up at him, and was well sketched. Whoever done this must have some real talent. He felt a swell of pride at the thought of someone taking this much time to sketch _him_. He turned it over upon finding no signature of the artist, but instead found a note in hasty handwriting:

_Leonard,_

_I know it's not much, but I wanted to give you something back._

_Thank you for tonight, Leonard. _

_I hope you like it. _

_(_f/n_)_

Leonard smiled at your heartfelt note. He would definitely have to thank _you_ for this.


	8. Since When Did You Like Horror?

THIS IS HOW WE DO IT. Updating like a boss, while sitting in bed. Yup, life doesn't get much better than this! :P Also, I don't know whether to make this story a Leonard/reader one and if you want to see that, then let me know, as well if the very idea would sicken you to death and make your soul want to fly away, then also let me know. I don't want to be making you angry or annoyed if I randomly pair up the reader with a character you don't want her to be paired up with. SO just drop a PM or a review stating your answer and it would be really helpful for me when I'm creating the next few chapters. :) This chapter is also written in a bit of a weird way. Like some half's the readers narrating, then others its from Leonard's perspective.  
I hope it isn't too confusing. And I'm also sorry for the detailed description of the opening scenes to the first 'scream' movie, but I have to make it horrifying for Leonard lol. I do not own any of the 'scream' movies btw :P Okay, *deep breath* I'm done with my rant. And I know that the title is really random, but I can't help it, I'm all out of good idea's :( Review please with your answer to the whole pairing issue (or just review for the fun of it!) :)

Chapter 8: Since when did you like horror?

Thai night was great. You had loved the fact that Sheldon had took the time to organize every day with a specific activity or food choice; some plain and normal, while others were odd and frankly random.  
"'Anything can happen Thursday'?" You questioned Leonard one day as you sat next to him on his sofa. He smiled meekly.  
"Sheldon made a schedule for our entire week."  
You were bored with looking for jobs the whole week while Penny went out to work - although you did feel slightly bad when she would come in every evening looking half dead and about ready to kill anything that looked at her. So you opted to be a good friend and make her dinner for when she came in... and then lie about not finding any available jobs. It was the easiest way, you figured. On Saturday morning, Penny woke bright and early to head to work, while you lounged in her living room, head in your hands and a half eaten bowl of cereal between your elbows. You had gotten to know Leonard and the gang pretty well by now - seeing as you did get invited to eat dinner there most nights, and when cooking for Penny got boring, you happily obliged to go and eat with your newly christened 'friends'. It felt good to call them that. You liked the idea of having friends other than Penny.  
So as your roommate left for work, you suddenly came to realize that you were all alone. On a Saturday. This was your life at the lowest. No work, nothing to do, and no one to talk to. That's when the brilliant idea of visiting Leonard popped into your head. So, you trudged over to the apartment across the hall from yours, and knocked on the door, not even knowing if anyone would be in. Or who would be in for that matter. You quickly decided that any company was better than no company on a boring day like this, and when the door swung open to reveal a lazy-looking Leonard, you grinned at him as if to mime 'oh cool, you've got a day off too!' He rubbed his eyes, and smiled back at you.  
"Having a lazy day?" You asked coyly, noting his scruffy hair. "Er, yeah. Sheldon's just gone down to get the mail, I think. Either that or he's got lost again." He stepped to the side and opened his door wider, allowing you entrance.  
"Again?" You repeated, frowning at his statement. Leonard hummed at your question, clearly stating it was true.  
You breathed a laugh as you sat down on his sofa, leaning back into the plush cushions of the leather, allowing your eyes to slide shut. You had no idea why you were so tired. Or lazy. You hadn't seen Leonard at all yesterday, and guessed it was probably because he was working, or he was busy or something, but it was good to be in his presence again.  
"Do you want something to drink?" You heard his voice ask from somewhere in front of you. Humming a brief 'yes'  
You pulled up your feet and tucked them underneath you, getting comfortable as you so often did. "If you want to watch the TV, go ahead, I wasn't watching anything to begin with." You snapped your eyes open.  
Reading the newspaper yesterday (to which Penny had called you old and lame for doing) you noted that there was a particular movie that had caught your eye which started at 10:30am. "Hey Leonard?" You grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, "Whats the time?" He looked to the clock on his microwave, before turning to you and stating that is was 10:28. You grinned. You were just in time. He frowned when you didn't explain why you wanted the time. Sensing his bewilderment, you quickly elaborated.  
"It's a movie I want to watch and it starts in a few minutes." He nodded, before walking over to join you on the settee. Handing you a drink of cola, he sat down beside you. You noted how close he was to you, and shuffled away from him. Maybe he misjudged the amount of room on the sofa? As the credits began rolling, you grabbed a pillow and flung it at Leonard's head, hitting his square in the face. He spluttered out his drink and you shushed him.  
"You're going to need that." You whispered, fumbling around for your own pillow."What the hell was that -" "Shhhh!" You quietened him as the title of the movie appeared in bold red letters. 'SCREAM'. It was famous of course, and one of your favorites. It never got old and it was a great horror movie to watch any time of day.  
Leonard frowned. Why were you watching a horror movie at this time of the day? Leonard looked at you with slight confusement. Since when did you like gory horror movies?  
"Since like forever!" You hissed, clutching the pillow close to your face at the gore you were expecting. Leonard had never seen this movie before, but after a sideways glance to you, and noting how you were emitting quiet squeaks and clenching your eyes closed, he followed suit, bringing the pillow up to his face so he could only just peer over. There was a phone ringing somewhere in the background just as a woman finished screaming shrilly. A blonde woman appeared beside the phone and picked it up, politely answering it. The man on the other end reminded Leonard of that crazy hobo he used to pass sometimes on his way to Cal-tech.  
She didn't want to answer his random questioning so hung up and went to make herself popcorn. The phone rang again.  
'This doesn't seem too scary...' He thought, stealing another glance at you. This time, your head was fully bent down into the pillow. He raised an eyebrow and continued watching. "Whats your favorite scary movie?" The voice asked, as the girl hummed in thought. "Halloween!" She answered. Leonard was intrigued by this movie. He normally thought movies started with gore and ended with more gore. This was different.  
"Hey (_f/n_)?" He whispered to you, "When was this film made?"  
"1996." You hissed back, whimpering as you heard the man on the other end of the phone ask for the girls name. Leonard sighed, looking back to the screen. The girl giggled slightly.  
"Why do you want to know my name?" The girl asked smoothly, setting down videos on top of her TV.  
"So I can know who I'm looking at." (_f/n_) let out a quiet squeal again, and shuffled closer to him. He held his breath as she rested her head on his shoulder. A few minutes later and the blonde girl was cowering in the corner of her room as the man on the phone asked her questions about scary movies in order for her to save his life. Leonard had to take back what he said about this movie. It was getting pretty disturbing. (_f/n_) was now peeking out from behind their shared pillow, gripping Leonard's arm with extreme strength that he never would have guessed she could have possessed. "Who was the killer in Friday the 13th?" The voice asked, to which the girl shot up.  
"Jason! Jason, it was Jason!" (_f/n_) was quietly whispering a chorus of 'no, no, no' as the voice told her it was the wrong answer. She protested until the voice told her Jason's mother was the original killer. The girl looked defeated,  
heart-broken, scared all at the same time. "You tricked me!" She cried out.  
"Well lucky for you there's a bonus round!" She looked up, apparent hope in her eyes, until the voice spoke again.  
"But poor Steve. I'm afraid he's out!" The music heightened as the camera panned to the girls boyfriend, gagged and bound in a chair, who uttered a muffled scream before going limp, the lighting showing a ghastly sight before the girl. Leonard forgot how to properly work his jaw at that point as his mouth opened slightly. He gripped (_f/n_) back, the music and the atmosphere finally getting to him. He shut his eyes, wanting the moment to be over as he heard glass break from inside the movie, and more screaming, struggling and running. Panting and heavy breaths ensued and he peeked open an eye at (_f/n_) who was watching with a shocked fascination at the movie she had chose to watch. Leonard looked at the screen again, witnessing the brutal murder of the blonde girl as she struggled away from her killer, whimpering and crying out in pain. She tried to call out to her parents but to no avail as she lay dying on the floor. This was all so horrific!  
"No!" Leonard heard himself shout out to the TV, startling (_f/n_) in the process. Her parents held the phone to their ears, the connection between the phone their daughter was holding and the one they were holding was still live, as they could only listen as their little girl was dragged along the floor. (_f/n_) buried her face into his chest as he continued to scream out to the girls parents, to her, to anyone!

* * *

Sheldon climbed the many stairs of his apartment complex. What a fine and ordered day this had been, and it was only 11am. He sighed contentedly, reaching his floor and pushing his key into his apartment door. Swinging it open and stepping in, he could only stare, confused and bewildered at the sight before him. Leonard pointing to the TV in a flustered state, crying out for someone to 'listen to him and go outside already' while (_f/n_) curled up beside him, her face buried in his chest and peeking out every once in a while, only to shoot back to her hiding spot. All he could do was...stare.


	9. Dinner At The Cheesecake Factory

Okay, I've made my mind up about the whole pairing issue. I know Leonard and Penny are amazingly cute together, but hey,  
if I pair the reader up with Leonard, it won't change the fact that in the real TV series, their still dating. So, with that in mind, I've decided to go ahead and make this a Leonard/Reader fic. Plus, I've never been to the cheesecake factory, so I don't have the foggiest idea of how its decorated... Sorry if I've got it completely wrong, but I tried to stick with how its decorated in The Big Bang Theory. _Ribbunfox_ asked for a Sheldon fill in, and I am happy to oblige! And I would also like to thank _Ribbunfox_ for the review :) I don't own The Cheesecake Factory or Wendy's. Review and let me know what you think :)

Chapter 9: Dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

As you walked down the street, trailing your newest group of friends, you couldn't help but feel slightly anxious.  
Would it not be considered rude if all of you were relaxing and having a nice dinner together while Penny had to run around on her feet, taking your orders and not being able to eat with you?  
"Nah, we do this all the time." Howard answered your question as you strolled beside him. He had gotten less flirtatious since you had told him to back off. "Yeah, she usually doesn't mind." Leonard chipped in, repositioning his hoodie closer around him as a particularly sharp gust of wind whipped around the five of you. You glanced at Raj, silently trotting next to Howard and occasionally whispering in his ear. You lent to your right, lowering your voice towards Leonard.  
"Why does he always do that?"  
"Oh he has difficulty speaking in front of women in anywhere within a 10 meter radius." Howard had caught your feeble attempt at whispering and answered your question for you, thus turning you red-faced. You stammered out a response.  
"O-oh, okay. That's...erm...unfortunate..." You mentally face-palmed. If Howard had heard that - and he was directly to your left - then Raj might have overheard too. You didn't want to come across as the bitch of the group who would ask stupid and insensitive questions. Sheldon, who was absentmindedly gazing at the variety of trees which decorated the sidewalk as you made your way to the Cheesecake Factory, had been strangely quite all journey. By now, you were used to him chipping into the conversation with random and interesting factoids, which ultimately turned the conversation in which ever direction best suited him; most of the time it was about either comic books or science, neither of which you had even the slightest idea of. He had been acting slightly distant ever since he had walked in on you and Leonard. Suddenly realizing the context of what you had said, you went wide-eyed and corrected your inner monologue hastily. When Sheldon stumbled upon you and Leonard watching a movie... together... with nothing going on in between. You sighed quietly. Yeah, that sounded much better.  
Thankfully though, before you could embarrass and confuse yourself further, the gang and you had rounded the next corner of the street, finding yourself gazing up at the entrance to The Cheesecake Factory. You smiled at the building, the bright lights of which illuminated the dark streets before you. It seemed like a nice place to eat. You were suddenly excited, butterflies dancing in your stomach at the thought of being able to see Penny in action. You midly wondered if she would be vastly different now that she was in her place of work. Maybe her posture would be straighter, her attitude more proffessional. You scoffed light-heartily. This _was_ Penny we were talking about. She would always be herself no matter what situation she was in. You liked that aspect of her. It was... comforting. You were jerked out of reminicing by someone calling your name.  
"(_f/n_)? Are you... coming in?" Leonard stood inside the entrance of the doorway, holding the door open for you from the inside. You were standing absent mindlessly on the walkway, staring up at the building and completely unaware that everyone was already inside. You blushed, feeling stupid to have even lost concentration at such a random time.  
"Oh, yeah. Yeah I'm coming." He nodded, and stood aside to let you walk past. The Cheesecake Factory was welcoming, with the walls of which being wainscot, the upper half a mix of beige and cream, and the lower half with wooden panels. Dotted around were large pillars covered in a multitude of mosaic tiles, while the seating area consisted of wooden tables and chairs. The lighting of the building was bright and cheerful, and around the walls and amongst the rows of seats, there sat various potted plants and flowers. Overall, the place seemed very professional, but held on to a certain informal element. Perhaps that's what made it so nice?  
You fiddled with your hair, making sure that you looked presentable in your cream blouse and knee-length blue flowery skirt, before catching up to the rest of the group. It would be nice to have dinner with the guys somewhere other than their apartment - not that you minded spending time with them in their home, but change was always nice. As you caught up to Sheldon, you distinctly noticed him catch your gaze before he awkwardly looked away. That was weird... but then you guessed he was just a bit socially awkward and in the end though it was nothing to worry about. For now though, you were preoccupied - as were most other members of the group - in actually finding a place to sit. It was pretty full for a Tuesday night, but you didn't normally come here, so you weren't accustomed to its usual fullness.  
You turned to Leonard for an explanation.  
"Hey, is it usually this crowded?" His face said it all. A mixture of shock and worry were plastered onto his cute little face- wait, what? What the hell had you just thought?! Did you just think Leonard was... cute? You silently shuffled away from him by a few inches. No, you had said that about LOADS of guys before, Leonard now being no exception, though you couldn't quite remember when you had thought about someone like _that_... Your feeble attempt to try to override your feelings ended up only making things worse. Luckily Leonard didn't notice the tell-tale blush tinting your expression. He leaned slightly towards you so his voice could be heard over the growing noise of people enjoying their meals together.  
"N-no, not really..." Of all the things you could have picked up on, all the things you could have noticed, the one thing that stood out was how close his face was to your own. You held his gaze a little longer than you had meant to, before tearing it away from him.  
"(_f/n)? Are you okay?" Leonard questioned, probably picking up on the fact that you were now as red as a tomato.  
"I'm fine! Are you okay?!" Mentally face-palming at the pure stupidity of your response, you tried to put on a brave face as Leonard blinked twice, then nodded with slight confusion. Up ahead, you could tell Sheldon was getting anxious at the sheer volume of people jammed into The Cheesecake Factory.  
"No, no, no." He shook his head slightly, body shaking, "This is_ not_ how dinner should go!" Leonard pulled you to the side, clearly wanting you to get a better view of Sheldon's face as he proceeded to throw a tantrum, Howard desperately trying to calm him down with a kind-hearted detachment."We should leave - but tonight is Cheesecake Factory night! Dinner anywhere else would just be wrong!"  
"How about we go to Wendy's, hmm? You like the burgers from there!" You muffled a laugh as Sheldon stomped his foot on the wooden floor, acting strangely similar to that of a petulant child.  
"I don't want to go to Wendy's! Tonight is not Wendy's night! Wendy's does not have an allocated spot on our eating schedule!" The next half of their argument was drowned out by you and Leonard's snickering. Sheldon sure was one for order. "Maybe we should eat somewhere else Sheldon, but just for tonight?" You proposed, earning a few groans from the guys.  
"Oh, now hang on there Missy!" Sheldon directed his attention to you, subsequently making you regret the proposition.  
"One cannot just _change_ where they eat willy nilly! This is an organized society we live in! It's against everything we stand for - and who's to say that if we miss this one night, it won't lead to a wild frenzy, where people just choose their meals on the spot, with no prior thinking or rational judgement. And do you know what that will lead to (_f/n_)?" You smirked, knowing the question was rhetorical, but answering it would just be too good to miss.  
"The world we live in today?" The guys snickered at your response as Sheldon opened his mouth, only to close it seconds later.  
"Anarchy, (_f/n_), anarchy." You nodded, letting out an exaggerated 'ah', sending the rest of the group into more muffled laughter.  
"I see. We'll we certainly don't want that." You sighed, grinning at Leonard when Sheldon turned his gaze from you. He returned your expression with as much enthusiasm as you had given him. Knowing that Sheldon would refuse to eat anywhere else, you and the boys had to settle for a table normally for four. That sucked right away - where were you going to sit? You had asked around for at least ten minutes if anyone had a spare chair you could use, but every chair was taken. Apparently there wasn't a spare seat in the entire restaurant. Great.  
"My lap is usually out of bounds, but for you, I think I'll make an exception." Howard made the sly suggestion of you sitting on his lap. You gave him your best 'er-no-way-in-hell' look, before scanning the area again to see if anyone had decided to go to the bathroom and you could just quickly steal their chair without them knowing. Nothing. Not even a stool at the bar was left free.  
"Well, now what am I going to do?" You whined in desperation, knowing that sooner or later if you didn't sit down, you would be asked to leave due to over-crowding. That was something you didn't want to happen.  
"Er, (_f/n_)... you could erm...sit on my lap...if you wanted?" You looked down to see Leonard awkwardly shuffling back his chair while looking anywhere but your face. Well, it's not as bad as Howard, you guessed... and its not as if you pestered him until he gave in and let you sit on his lap... he offered... so its not wrong... is it? Rashly deciding that tonight would be one night where you weren't thrown out of a restaurant, you took up his offer, and gently sat down on his lap. You heard Howard scoff and defended yourself.  
"Oh come on Howard, would you sit on your lap?" He looked thoughtful for a second, and frowned, clearly not wanting to answer. "That's what I thought." Leonard sighed a laugh, which ended up as hot breath on your neck. You let out a noise of discomfort and when Leonard tensed, you told him that there must have been a cross breeze that made you cold. It was a pathetic excuse for a lie, but you didn't want to tell him the real truth. Your neck was... sensitive to say the least. At this moment in time, Leonard's hands were dangling at the sides of his chair, because you had rested both your arms on his arm rests. Feeling bad, and not thinking what you were doing, you reached down and grabbed both his wrists in your hands, pulling them up and wrapping them round your waist. He inhaled sharply at the contact, and then you realized that you might have taken it a bit too far, but for some reason, you were comfortable like this. Leaning back against his chest, you relaxed against his grip, he soon after followed your lead. Perhaps this night wouldn't be as bad as you thought it would be...

* * *

Scanning down the menu, Sheldon already knew what he would order - Of course he knew what he would order. He knew what he would order every week. One Barbeque Bacon Cheeseburger with barbeque sauce, bacon and cheese on the side. The categorically strict rules he followed made his life so much more organized - just the way he liked it. That (_f/n_) asking about eating somewhere else. _Daredevil of the group_, he assumed. He glanced around, wrinkling his nose at the amount of people eating here tonight. His gaze abruptly landed on (_f/n_), who was now currently resting her head against Leonard's shoulder, sitting on his lap comfortably with his hands wrapped around her waist. He frowned. Leonard was not the best of scientists, and he would never be even the slightest bit comparable to the standards of Sheldon Lee Cooper, but one thing he didn't think Leonard was, was a womanizer. Maybe he was just reading the situation wrong? He observed and concentrated harder on the sights before him; (_f/n_) closed her eyes, and relaxed into Leonard's chest as he stole the scent from her hair unbeknownst to her. Every so often he would reposition his hands around her waist, or move her onto his lap more so she wouldn't slip off. Sheldon tilted his head. It seemed as if Leonard may want to be romantically involved with (_f/n_)... He scoffed. No, Sheldon Cooper is always right first time.


End file.
